The best thing about the second season of ‘Daredevil’ is The Punisher

“Daredevil” season two is out Friday, and while I can’t say for
sure that it’s better than the first season, I've previewed the
first seven episodes, and it’s definitely satisfying.

The season wastes no time reminding you what the show became
known for — smartly shot and well choreographed fight sequences
which made the first season so incredibly enjoyable. You don’t
even see Daredevil in full until minute four of the season
opener.

And when you do, he welcomes viewers with a shiny new costume and
a few new toys for taking down punks in Hell’s Kitchen. Matt
Murdock (Charlie Cox) has become comfortable in his nightly
vigilante routine. On the flip side, he’s playing lawyer with his
best buddy Foggy (Elden Henson), a concerned pal telling Matt he
needs to really lay off the nightly calls, and his secretary/lady
friend Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll).

If you’ve been watching the trailers for the new season, you know
that doesn’t last long.

And thank goodness because you can only take so much of the
Karen/Foggy/Matt show before things start to get a little
monotonous. When the Punisher finally arrives all guns blazing —
literally — well, that’s where things start to get interesting.

Daredevil by himself isn’t that interesting for long. It’s the
other characters on the show who make him come alive. The
addition of two new cast members, Jon Bernthal (“The Walking
Dead”) and Elodie Yung, are the reason season two is so enticing.

Fans have patiently waited to see Bernthal’s rough and tough
entry as Marvel favorite Frank Castle on Daredevil season two,
and they won’t be disappointed.

I
think many would easily watch an entire standalone Punisher
series.Netflix

Bernthal’s the best thing about the second season of the Netflix
original series, and there is not nearly enough of him.

A ravaged, former marine who has suffered a great loss, Castle is
waging a one-man war on the Irish mafia and other scum of the
Earth.

Known as the Punisher, for dishing out his own
brand of justice, he’s a deadly, vengeful Batman — a brooding,
tragic figure who’s quiet and menacing, but without the flashy
cars and the cash. The high-tech gadgets and batarangs are
replaced with live ammunition and a plethora of guns.
His way of getting the job done is a
little more absolute than Daredevil’s.

He often doesn’t say much. He doesn’t need to.
The pain of his past is shown in tired eyes. Quiet scenes with
him are just as powerful — if not more — than the ones where he
comes barreling out in full blast spraying a barrage of bullets
in his path.

He’s the perfect foil to Matt’s devilish
vigilante — a character often compared to Batman as well.
The Punisher pushes Daredevil to his limit, making him
question his ideals and, for a second, question the most
effective way to take down crime in Hell’s Kitchen.

Daredevil and The Punisher are two men with different
principles. One takes, what he believes to be is, the higher
road, while the other goes to the extreme in his search for
justice.Netflix

While Murdock likes to believe he lives by a
certain set of rules he’s laid out for himself, we find his moral
code may not be as clear as season two begins to unfold.

In addition to the fancy camera work in multiple
fight sequences, season two experiments more with the use of
colored lighting.

If you tuned into November’s Jessica Jones,”
purple was a prominent color used in the series to match the ever
looming presence of the “purple man,” Kilgrave. For “Daredevil,”
it’s red, to match Murdock’s costumed suit — and quite possibly
match the blood spilled at his hands. When purple came on the
screen in Jessica Jones, it wasn’t meant as a good
thing. It was a warning.

Remember all of that
creepy purple lighting in "Jessica Jones"?Myles Aronowitz/Netflix

Similarly, the red in Daredevil appears to
illustrate a grey, murky area of morality, a struggle made
only more difficult by the presence of Bernthal’s Punisher in the
season’s first few episodes and later by the time Murdock’s
ex-girlfriend Elecktra is introduced.

The season’s second antihero, played by French
actress Elodie Yung, is a different kind of crazy who gets a high
off violence and is as dangerous as she is seductive. She returns
into Matt’s life with an agenda (naturally), and she’s a
temptress who should not be crossed. Elektra's addition in season
two also throws a wrench in Matt's vigilante ideals.

Don't let that face fool
you.Patrick
Harbron/Netflix

Elektra can take care of herself.Netflix

The first seven episodes play out in two acts. Half of the
episodes are Punisher centric while the latter half belong to
Elektra. Act three, it seems, will bring everyone together.

There are still six episodes to go and I feel like I’m not
entirely sure where in what direction they’re going to go, but
I’m looking forward to seeing how it all plays out.

All 13 one-hour episodes of “Daredevil” season two will be
available on Netflix Friday, March 18.